Refrigerator



OCL 15, 1952 l.. H. FOSTER ETAL 3,058,320

REFRIGERATOR Filed June '7. 1960 United States Patent O 3,058,320REFRIGERA'IOR Lawrence H. Foster, Scarsdale, and Harold E. Bush, Hudson,NSY., assignors to Foster Refrigerator Corp., Hudson, N.Y., acorporation of New York Filed June 7, 1960, Ser. No. 34,468 S Claims.((31. 62-382) The present invention relates to refrigeration and moreparticularly to `a refrigerator for `a roll-in cart on which perishableproducts are conveyed.

While the present invention may have other applications it isparticularly adapted to refrigerate food products for periods betweenpreparation and delivery. The products, such as individual trays offood, may be placed on a cart as they are prepared in a kitchen fordelivery to a place where they are to be used. For example, the trays offood may be prepared in `one part of a kitchen and then transported onthe cart to another part of the kitchen or room for storage. -In such anoperation it is desirable to prepare a large number of the food traysbefore meal time so that they will be ready for delivery in one lot.However, such preparation presents a problem as the food products willdeteriorate if left standing at room tern- .perature, and may beunpalatable when served.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide an improvedapparatus for refrigerating perishable products while carried on a cartused for transporting the products to the place of delivery.

Another object is to provide a refrigerator which is so constructed asto facilitate the movement of a roll-in cart into and out of theinterior thereof.

Another object is to provide a construction in a refrigerator which willguide the wheels of a cart into and out of the refrigerator and permitthe cart to be rolled into and out of the refrigerator without anybumping or tilting of the cart.

Still `another object is to Provide a refrigerator of the type indicatedwhich is of simple and compact construction, adapted for economicalmanufacture and one which is reliable in guiding a cart into therefrigerator without disturbing the produce mounted thereon.

These and other `objects will become more apparent from the followingdescription and drawing in which like reference characters denote likeparts throughout the several views. It is to be expressly understood,however, that the drawing is for the purpose of illustration only and isnot a deiinition of the limits of the tinvention, reference Ibeing hadfor this purpose to the yappended claims.

In the drawing:

`FIGURE l is a perspective view of a refrigerator incorporating thenovel features `of the present invention and showing a roll-in cartentering one of the stalls therein;

- FIGURE 2 is a transverse sectional View of the refrigerator showingone of the pair of recessed tracks in its bottom wall and the tting atthe open end of the recessed track for guiding the wheels of the carttherein;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a section of the bottom wallof the refrigerator and showing the channel forming a recessed track andthe pivoted ramp and caster guides on the fitting;

FIGURE 4 is a plan view of the fitting showing the forwardly andoutwardly curved inner edges of the wheel guides;

FIGURE 5 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 5 5 of FIGURE 4showing one upright member of the fitting with the ramp pivoted to itslower end and the wheel guide at its upper end; and

FIGURE 6 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 3,@582@ PatentedOct. 16, 1962 6 6 of FIGURE 4 to show the inclination of the ramp plateat its center.

Referring now to the drawings, the invention is shown applied to arefrigerator 10 adapted to receive a roll-in cart 11. The refrigerator210 may be of a size to receive a single cart r11 or any desired numberof carts 11 and in the illustrated embodiment, the refrigerator isadapted to receive four of the carts. Refrigerator 10 is placed on thefloor of a building and has insulated walls including the bottom wall ofoor 12 and an open front 13. The bottom wall of oor 12 of therefrigerator 10 has considerable thickness, three or more inches, toprovide the required insulation so that it is positioned at a levelabove the level of the floor of the building. The open front 13 isdivided by insulated mullions 14 forming four separate openings 15extending throughout the height of the interior of the refrigerator. Adoor 16 is provided for each door opening 15 and the doors are hinged tothe front of a side wall or mullion to swing from a closed to an openposition.

The refrigerator lll is cooled by a mechanical refrigerating unit 17shown mounted on the top and connected in a conventional manner to aplurality of evaporators 18 positioned at the rear of the mullions 14.Each evaporator 18 is of a width slightly less than the width of themullion le, and, as shown in FIGURE 1, extends from the rear of amullion to the rear wall of the refrigerator *10 and downwardly forsubstantially one-half the height of the refrigerator. Each evaporator18 has a fan 13a for circulating air over the heat exchange elementsthereof and delivering cooled air to the interior of the refrigerator.As will be observed in FIGURE 1, the evaporators 13 form walls whichdivide the interior of the refrigerator 10 into a plurality of stalls 19at the rear of the door openings 15 and each evaporator has a drip-pan20 thereunder for draining condensate to the exterior of the cabinet.Above and below the evaporators 18 of the refrigerator is openthroughout its width to permit the free circulation of air betweenstalls 19.

The cart 11 may comprise an open frame or have enclosing walls and inthe illustrated embodiment is shown as an open rectangular frame of anangle-shape construction having either shelves 21 or spaced rails 22, orboth, for mounting food trays or other products. Each cart `11 isprovided with pairs of front and rear caster wheels 24 mounted to swivelon the bottom of the cart. As stated above, the insulated bottom wall 12of the refrigerator 10 has considerable thickness and would prevent thecart 11 from being rolled into a stall 19. For example, ythe bottom wall12 has an under sheathing 26 of metal which rests on the building floor,see FIGURE 3, with an upturned ange 27 forming the front of the bottomwall and block insulating material 2S, such as plastic foam or the like,mounted on the sheathing. Thus, the bottom wall 12 has a substantialheight of three inches or more to provide the insulation required andwhich forms a barrier to the movement of the casters 24 and cart 11 intoa stall 19.

In accordance with the present invention, the bottom wall 12 of therefrigerator 10 has spaced tracks in each stall 19 which are recessed ingrooves of a width to accommodate the wheels of casters 24 and guidesfor guiding the casters on the cart into the grooved tracks. The groovedtracks 30 and 31 in each stall 19 are recessed to a depth in the bottomwall 12 to position the bottom of the tracks only slightly above thelevel p of the lloor on which the refrigerator 1o is constructed.

As shown most clearly in FIGURE 3, the grooved track 30 comprises ametalchannel 32 having a depth to position its ybottom wall 33 over thesheathing 26 with its side walls 34 and 35 extending upwardly from thebottom wall. The metal channel 32 is set in the slotted recess or groove3i) in the insulating material 28 and the slotted recess is stepped toprovide a narrow lower section adjacent the sides of the channel 32, awider upper section to accommodate the wider portion of the caster abovethe wheels and intermediate horizontal shoulders 37 between4 the.sections. The side walls 34 and 35 of the metal trough-like channel 32have laterally projecting flanges 38 and 39 projecting horizontally tooverlie the horizontal shoulders 37 with the forward end of the channelflush with the outside face of ange 27 at the front of bottom wall 12 ofthe refrigerator 10. The rearward end of the metal channel 32 has atransverse wall 40 closing the rearward end and forming a stop engagedby a wheel 24 on the cart 11 to limit its rearward movement when rolledinto the refrigerator. Forwardly of the rear wall 48 the bottom wall isdimpled to provide a detent 41 to restrain forward movement of cartwheel 24.V It will be observed that the channel 32 has a generallyrounded bottom wall 33 and rearward wall 40 which adapts it to be easilycleaned. Furthermore, the rounded bottom wall 33 of greater radius thanthe transverse radius of the cart wheels 24 causes the cart wheels to beautomatically guided to the center of the channel which eliminatesbinding of the wheel with a side of the track and thereby avoids anysway or bumping of the cart as it moves into and out of a stall 19 andspilling of products from the cart.

The caster guides are in the form of a fitting l45 attached to the frontof the bottom wall 12 at the open end of the tracks 30 and 31. Eachfitting 45 has a central opening 46 corresponding to the contour of thegrooved track 30 or 31, a pivoted ramp 47 inclined from the level of thebuilding oor to the bottom of the grooved track and wing guides 48 ateach side of the opening for guiding a caster 24 into the track. Fitting45 comprises spaced upright members 49 and 50 overlying the ange 27 onthe front of the bottom wall of the refrigerator and each upright memberhas a slotted hole 51 for a fastening 52. The adjacent inner edges ofthe members 49 and 50 are spaced apart a distance equal to the spacingof the side walls 34 and 35 of the channel 32 so as to conform to theforward edges of the channel and provide a continuation thereof. Eachramp plate 47 may be pivotally mounted to the lower edges of members 49and 50 by any suitable hinge means. In the illustrated embodiment themembers 49 and 50 each have a hinge bearing 53 interleaved betweenspaced bearings 54 and 55 on the ramp plate and connected thereto by ahinge pin 56. Thus, the ramp plate 47 is adapted to rock with respect tothe upright supporting members 49 and 50 of the fitting 45 to drop thefront edge of the plate against the floor. The ram-p plate 47 isinclined from its forward edge to its rearward edge, see FIGURE 6, andits rearward edge is shaped to the contour of the forward end of thechannel 32. As shown most clearly, in FIGURE 3, the center portion ofthe ramp plate 45 is recessed in an outwardly diverging path from theend of the track channel 32 to partially guide a caster 24 into the openend of the channel.

Wing flanges 48 are formed .as an integral part of the uprightsupporting members -49 and 50, respectively, and project forwardlytherefrom to guide and tilt a caster 24 on cart 11 into the metalchannel 32. The adjacent inner edges 61 and 62 of the opposed wingflanges 48 curve forwardly and outwardly to form a converging mouth intothe open end of the channel 32. As shown in FIGURES 3, the wing angesextend laterally beyond the sides 34 and 35 of the metal channel 32 adistance greater than the width of the channel and the curved edges 61and 62 diverge forwardly and outwardly for at least two-thirds of thewidth of the wing flanges 48.

Each door 16 is provided with a pair of closure elements l63 and 64adjacent its lower edge and so spaced Ias to enter the open ends of theupper wider sections of the grooved tracks 30 and 31 and close theopening.

t Each closure element 63 and 64 carries a pair of depending wipers 65and 66 of a flexible material, such as rubber, which project into thechannels 32 to complete the closure of the open end of the tracks 30 and31. One form of the invention having now been described in detail, themode of operation is next explained.

For purposes of description, let it be assumed that the refrigerator ofthe present invention is to be used to refrigerate perishable foodproducts after preparation and before delivery to, for example, anotherpar-t of the kitchen for further processing. Let it further be assumedthat the refrigerator 10 is located on the floor of a building eitheradjacent to the kitchen or somewhere between thedplaces where the foodproducts are prepared and use As theV preparation of each tray of -foodis completed, it is placed on a shelf 21 or on the racks 22 of the cart11. When the cart has been completely loaded with food trays, itisrolled to the refrigerator 10, a door 16 of a -stall 19 opened and thecart rolled into the refrigerator. To this end, the attendant guides thecart manually toward the door opening and the casters 24 swivel topermit the direction of movement of the cart to be changed. Thus, thedirection of movement of the cart can be easily controlled by theattendant withinthe range necessary to insure engagement of the pair offront wheel 24 between the guide wing 48 of the fittings 4S projectingforwardly from the bottom wall 12 of the refrigerator.

When the front casters 24 enter the throat between wing langes 48 of thegrooved tracks 30 and 31, the direction of movement of the casters isthereafter controlled by the curved edges 61 and 62 of the Wing flangesto guide them into the grooved track. Casters 25 swivel to accommodatethe change in the direction of the wheel as the cart continues to rollforwardly. Simultaneously the wheels -24 ride up the slight incline ofthe ramp plates 47 and also are partially guided by the concave recessesin the ramp plates into the open end of the channels 32 which arealigned with the opening in the fittings 4S. Due to the gradual inclineof the ramp plates 47 the wheels 24 ride up the incline smoothly whichavoids any bumping of the cart 11 and food trays thereon.

Once the front pairs of casters 24 have entered the open end of thegrooved tracks 30 and 31 they are guided by the sides 34 and 35 of thechannels 32. The depth of the channels 32 are less than the radius ofthe caster Iwheels and the groove tracks 30 and 31 are offset laterallyabove the lateral iianges 38 and 39 to provide a clearance for thecasters 2S. As the cart 11 continues to move into the stall 19 therearward pair of wheels 24 engage the ramp plates y47 and are guided bythe wing anges 48 as previously described and enter the open end of thegroove tracks 30 `and 31. The closed rearward ends 40 of the channels 32are engaged by the front pair of casters 24 which act as stops to limitthe forward movement of the cart 11 in the refrigerator. The cart 11 isthen located wholly in the refrigerator 10 after which the door 16 isclosed. As the door closes the closure elements 63 and 64 enter theupper wider portion of the grooved tracks 30 and 31 `and the wipers 65and 66 extend into the metal channels 32 to seal the opening formed bythe recessed tracks. In some installations it is desirable .to provide apass through the refrigerator with doors at opposite sides in which casethe channel 32 is continuous from one side to the other with casterguide fittings 45 at each end.

When the food trays are ready for delivery the door 16 is opened, thecart :1d rolled out of the stall 19 of the refrigerator `10 and the cartpushed to the place where the food trays are to be used. 'It will now beunderstood that other products than food trays, such as containers orcartons of food or bulb food products, may be carried on suitable cartsfor storage in the refrigerator.

It will now be observed that the present invention provides an improvedapparatus for refrigerating perishable food products while mounted on acart used for transporting the products from a place of preparation to aplace of delivery. It will also be observed that the present inventionprovides a refrigerator which is so constructed as to facilitate themovement of a cart into and out of a refrigerator. It will still furtherbe observed that the present invention provides a refrigeratorconstruction Which guides the casters of a cart into the refrigeratorand permits the cart to roll into and out of the refrigerator withoutany bumping or sliding of the food products. It will still further beobserved that the present invention provides an apparatus of the typeindicated which is of simple and compact construction, economical tomanufacture and one which is reliable in operation.

While a single embodiment of the invention is herein illustrated anddescribed, it will be understood that changes may 1oe made in theconstruction and arrangement of elements Without departing from thespirit or scope of the invention. Therefore, Without limitation in thisrespect the invention is dened by the following claims.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for storing perishable products comprising, in combination,a cart having casters freely movable in different directions fortransporting the products to any desired location, a refrigerator havinginsulated side and bottom walls and a door opening through which thecart may be rolled in and out of the refrigerator, a refrigerationsystem having an evaporator in the refrigerator for cooling the interiorof the refrigerator, recessed grooves in the insulated bottom Wall ofthe refrigerator below the door opening and forming spaced tracks at alevel only slightly above the level of the floor supporting therefrigerator, and a combined guide and ramp for each track mounted onthe front of the bottom wall of the refrigerator for restricting thedirection of movement of the casters of the cart and guiding them intothe recessed track grooves.

2. Apparatus for storing perishable products comprising, in combination,a refrigerator having insulated side and bottom walls, an openingextending throughout the height of the refrigerator, a mechanicalrefrigeration system having an evaporator for cooling the interior ofthe refrigerator, a door for opening and closing the opening in therefrigerator, a cart having casters freely movable in differentdirections for transporting the perishable products and adapted to rollin and out of the refrigerator through the door opening, grooved tracksrecessed in the insulated bottom wall of the refrigerator, a fixtureattached to the front of the bottom wall for each grooved track andhaving a pivoted ramp aligned with the bottom of the track, uprightmembers at each side of the track, and laterally flared caster guidesprojecting forwardly from each upright member to restrain the directionof movement of the casters on the cart whereby to guide the casters intothe grooved tracks in the bottom wall of the refrigerator.

3. Apparatus for storing perishable products comprising, in combination,a refrigerator having insulated walls and an open front, spaced mullionsextending vertically to divide the open front into adjacent dooropenings, evaporators extending rearwardly from the mullions and formingwalls dividing the refrigerator into adjacent stalls, a mechanicalrefrigeration system connected to the evaporators to cool each stall inthe refrigerator, carts having casters freely movable in differentdirections and adapted to roll in and out of the stalls of therefrigerator through the door openings at the front, each stall havingspaced grooves recessed in the insulated bottom wall below the dooropenings and forming spaced tracks, and a combined guide and ramp foreach track attached to the front of the bottom wall of the refrigeratorfor restricting the movement of the casters of a cart whereby to guidethe casters into the recessed track grooves.

4. Apparatus for storing perishable products in accordance with claim 2in which each grooved track comprises a recess in the insulated bottomwall and a channel mounted in the recess, the ramp of the fixture is acontinuous plate extending beyond the sides of the track channel andinclined from its forward to its rearward edges, and the rearward edgeof the ramp being pivotally connected to the upright members of thefixture.

5. Apparatus for storing perishable products in accordance With claim 4in which the track channel has laterally projecting anges at the upperedges of its opposite side, and the rearward edge of the ramp andadjacent sides of the upright members of the fixture having a shapeconforming to the contour of and abutting the forward end of the trackchannel.

6. Apparatus for storing perishable products in accordance with claim 2in which the ramp extends beyond the track channel at each side adistance at least equal to the width of the channel, and the flaredcaster guides extending throughout the width of the upright members withthe inner edge being curved and diverging forwardly and laterally.

7. Apparatus for storing perishable products in accordance with claim 6in which the ramp has a curved recess which conforms to the contoul ofthe channel and flares to underlie the ilared guides.

8. Apparatus for storing perishable products in accordance with claim 2in which the grooved tracks are stepped with a wide upper section and anarrower lower section, closure elements mounted on the door to enterthe wider upper sections of the grooved tracks, and flexible wipersdepending from the closure elements into the narrower sections of thetracks to close the openings formed by the tracks.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,959,468 Frost et al. May 22, 1934 2,131,131 Zarotschenzeff Sept. 27,1938 2,238,193 Stephens Apr. 15, 1941 2,506,448 Gregor May 2, 19502,607,536 White Aug. 19, 1952 2,608,836 Pusey Sept. 2, 1952 2,634,590Beardsley Apr. 14, 1953 2,723,176 Richter etal Nov. 8, 1955

